CHAPTER 8

- Han Song-Yi -

The E-ranker gently started to wake up from a pleasant dream. Without bothering to even open her eyes, she nestled even closer into the cushioned pillow as Song-Yi sighed comfortably under the fuzzy blanket, not wanting to wake up from her dream just yet.

It was a spicy memory, one influenced by the scene of Mars and Jinah in the hospital room. The key difference in her dream was her involvement, instead of being a passive spectator, she was an active participant, she was in the middle of their loving, tangled embrace. The dream felt quite realistic, as if she could even feel Jinah's soft curves in her hands. Her dream took an unexpected turn as Park Heejin appeared suddenly, just as naked as the rest of them, joining the group in it's unashamed debauchery.

The sounds and warmth of a blazing campfire crackling began to softly pull her from the fantasy; she could no longer ignore the increasing sounds of strange birds chirping and cheeping. She finally cracked her eyes open, wiping the drool from her lip when she realized what she had been doing this whole time.

Song-Yi was cuddled directly into Park Heejin's bust, she was essentially motorboating the B-rank mage. She had a hand unknowingly wrapped around her soft ass. Song-Yi nervously looked up to her face, silently praying Heejin was still asleep somehow.

"Good morning~" Heejin quietly greeted the girl, who suddenly couldn't look into Heejin's teasing green eyes. "Did you sleep well Song-Yi? Looks like you had a nice dream…"

"Aah! Heejin-unnie…" Song-Yi felt her face burn up in embarrassment, as she scrambled out of her cover, separating from her warm embrace. "I'm so sorry! I didn't realize what I was doing."

"It's okay! You looked so cute sleeping soundly like that~" Heejin responds charmingly, giggling to herself. "I felt the same way, I don't even know the last time I had such a wonderful rest. I didn't expect to get it in a red gate, of all places."

"Where's Mars?" Song-Yi wanted to change the subject quickly, realizing he is nowhere to be seen.

"I'm not sure, I just only recently woke up as well." The older girl finally got up, stretching her limber body, before poking her head out of the snug tent.

Song-Yi followed her out of the tent, yawning cozily as she admired the beautiful otherworldly sunrise. Both girls were surprised the campsite was practically deserted, a mass of footsteps leaving the camp indicating they've been left alone.

They weren't completely alone, as Mars' fearsome right hand man Igris was the lone guardian left in the camp, no doubt left by Mars to keep watch over us. The large summon was diligently frying a couple of eggs on a cast iron pan over the fire, bowing to us as he noticed we were finally up.

The knight gestured the girls to sit on the log in front of the campfire, where he began to serve the two ladies fresh tea. He prepared breakfast for the two, the hearty breakfast plate consisted of perfectly fried eggs and savory bacon, which she could only guess came from the bears.

"Thank you, Igris." Heejin greedily starts to feast, the group having enjoyed his dinner from the night before.

"This is good!" Song-Yi said to the gentlemanly knight, his chest seemed to stick out further than usual as the ladies cleaned out their plates. "Thank you, Igris-sunbae!"

"Where do you think Mars went?" The E-ranker asked Heejin, once they finished eating. "Did he leave to help the other group?"

"I don't know… Maybe. They taught us that anything could happen in a gate. But red gates are the worst thing that could happen, besides maybe an S-rank gate spawning." The mage slowly frowned when she thought of the other hunters. "To be honest, most of the other hunters might be dead by now. If Mars wasn't here with us, I couldn't imagine we'd last an entire day…"

Igris, who had been silently watching the women from a distance, suddenly unsheathes his great sword, startling the two hunters who had been peacefully enjoying Igris' delicious tea.

Song-Yi looked further into the forest, where Igris had begun to stare out in alert, his grip on his weapon meant he was ready to launch an attack at anytime. Two mammoth pink-skinned monsters barged into the campsite, looking at the hunters like they were their breakfast.

"Are those yetis?!" Heejin screamed out in panic, grabbing her staff as she formed a yellow barrier of light around the two girls.

Igris looked over to us quickly, nodding to Heejin, silently urging her to keep the barrier up. He leapt high into the air, landing right in front of the yetis, seemingly unthreatened by the giant beasts.

The yetis got into his face, staring down at him with glowing red eyes, before growling loudly at him, trying to scare the knight. The sheer force of their roars echoed loudly, causing the barrier to shake slightly.

With the speed of a lightning bolt, Igris attacked, propelling two throwing knives at the first yeti, one knife impaling itself in the yetis eye, the second one slicing up it's other cornea. Song-Yi barely saw the blades in air, it was as if Igris used telekinesis to accelerate the knives into the yeti. The beast howled in pain as it tried to grasp it's face in it's disturbingly large hands.

The first yeti had been incapacitated, Igris turned to the second yeti, his weighty sword began to shine dangerously like it was made out of pure electricity. He rushed forward, his cape expanded in the wind, looking like a pair of wings as he started to carve up the yeti. He sliced up it's right arm all the way up to it's shoulder, before he soared into the air again, driving the sword deep into the yeti's left shoulder. The smell of burnt flesh started to envelope the campsite, as Igris' lightning blade literally cooked and sliced the meaty arm at the same time.

"H-how strong are these yetis?" Song-Yi asked the mage, both girls were unable to peel their eyes away from the high level encounter.

"They're easily A-rank magic beasts, yet Igris is basically playing around with them…" She replied back, in awe of the shadow summon.

The yeti screamed in rage, trying to grab Igris, but he was simply too quick for the slow, lumbering beast. The shadow knight jumped onto a tree, where the yeti looked up at him, when Igris surged towards it, the sword crackling in his hand ready for one last strike. With his increased momentum, Igris managed to slice the yeti's head off in one definitive swing.

Igris approached the other blinded yeti from behind, who had been bleeding from it's eyeholes nonstop, whining in misery. Igris brutally swung his sword at it's exposed neck, killing it slowly as the great sword got stuck in the yeti's thick, muscular neck. With effort, Igris sawed his way through it's whole neck, savagely decapitating the second ape.

Igris shook off the blood on his blade, carefully inserting the sword back into it's sheath. He studied the corpses of the two yetis, seemingly proud of himself before he returned to the two women, bowing in apology for causing a scene.

"I'd be amazed if raid leader Chul's group is still okay..." Heejin commented with wide eyes, realizing just how strong the gentle knight is.

Mars' summon diligently began to pack up the tent and all of the cooking equipment, gesturing to the girls, signaling it's time to meet up with Mars.

- Baruka (Ice Elf) -

The strongest ice slayer smirked as he finally got to study the unknown presence up close. He had been silently watching this 4-winged being ever since his lead scout warned him about two outliers from within the pathetic group of humans. The second exotic character was a brooding knight with a distinct blood red ornament on it's helmet that swayed in the wind. According to his scout team, the two were able to sense and block the elves' deadly ambush attack.

Later, he managed to witness the mysterious presence face off against the tameless ice bears, known for their tenacity. Baruka and his forces viewed the one-sided battle, where his scoundrel summons sliced up the enormous alpha bear. The elf's suspicions were confirmed when he watched the winged man resuscitate the beasts back to life, as infamous shadow soldiers. The Hyakki were then surprised when the seraph looking creature displayed his own boundless personal power, as the group never heard a yeti make such an agonizing noise. He winced when the shield made strong contact with the giant dumb ape, his elves were impressed when he made such quick work of the yeti.

"My head scout informed me there's someone strong among the humans." Baruka stated to the 4-winged man as he gestured to the long-haired Hyakki ace archer who loved to taunt his opponents. "Imagine my surprise when it's the King of the Dead himself, the Shadow Monarch!"

Thanks to his species' natural cold resistance and runic elven armor, the warlord of the ice elves was basically immune to freezing temperatures, but even he still felt a chill as he observed the ghastly Shadow Army. He admired the battle-tested shadow soldiers who made up the bulk of the forces. Baruka studied the former beasts of the arctic jungle, who were no question much more threatening as soldiers of the Immortal Army. The ice bears were a lot bigger, and the yetis somehow even more imposing.

"My name is Baruka, head of the Hyakki inhabiting this glacial crypt." Baruka introduced himself confidently, as he rose back up to his feet. "Every intelligent magical creature worth it's salt knows of the Shadow Monarch, but you're not wearing his legendary shadow armor, nor do you wield his sword of pure black... You're not Ashborn, are you?"

"No, I'm not Ashborn. I'm Mars Valentino, the new Shadow Monarch." The winged man finally introduced himself in the language of magic beasts, as he called his soldiers to sheathe their weapons and stand down. "I've inherited Ashborn's throne, and as his successor, I plan on ruling over the rest of the Monarchs. I assume you haven't heard from the Frost Monarch lately?"

Baruka went silent for a moment. Can he trust this new Monarch? The Frost Monarch was always a bit wary about Ashborn.

"Why would Ashborn give up his powers to a random human?" The cunning ice elf questioned the newest King of the Dead.

"Because he was looking for an heir this whole time. Ashborn was tired of an immortal lifetime of never ending war. " Mars revealed, seeing no reason to lie. "And I'm no random human… You should know that by now. That nagging voice in the back of your minds, compelling you to slaughter all humans, I know you don't feel that urge with me."

The merciless Hyakki cracked a smile at his response. How could he know that? This new Monarch was a really interesting guy…

"Let me ask you a question, Baruka. Do you remember anything after the Great War? Anything before suddenly waking up in this strange forest?" Mars continued to bewilder the elves, who were all listening closely to this revealing conversation. "I bet you can only remember preparing for the war, then suddenly being transported to this new dimension."

Baruka and the rest of the Hyakki suddenly got migraines trying to connect the dots, as the details were hazy regarding the whole situation.

"T-that's…" The leader of the Hyakki stood still in thought, distracted, as the rest of the elves muttered to themselves in confusion.

"Let me help you out. You were captured by the Rulers during the war. They implanted Essence Stones into your heads, causing the memory loss and subsequent bloodthirst for humans." The new Monarch exposed to the group of elves. "Simply put, the Rulers wanted to saturate the human world with mana, creating Gates thanks to you and all the magic beasts and creatures they captured."

Baruka started to put all the pieces together. This Mars was no monster, yet he spoke the monstrous mother tongue with no difficulties. He was not a human either, nothing like the group he entered with, who were all easily decimated by his ice slayers or the simpleminded beasts.

"There's really no reason for us to fight, as I know you don't desire any unnecessary casualties, either." Mars continued to speak, challenging everything the elf ever thought about the intricate conflict between Monarchs and Rulers. "The Frost Monarch isn't coming to save you. The only way you can succeed is if you join my forces. The only way you will taste sweet victory is if you become my shadow soldier."

- Mars -

I cover a smirk from Baruka and the rest of the ice slayers. It was clear they all knew I was right, as the group of Hyakki seemed troubled realizing what happened to them during the war.

"What exactly are you offering, Shadow Monarch?" Baruka finally answered, interested in my words.

"Besides the chance to live forever as an eternal warrior?" I respond with a disarming smile. "I have a vision. One where not all Monarchs and their subjects need to die. I've got a good feeling the Frost Monarch would be willing to negotiate with me if we ever cross paths. Of course, you and your kin here would be the bridge that helps me make that dream possible."

I study the S-rank dungeon boss as he mulls over my offer. He has a purple leaf-shaped crest on his forehead, the same one that Tank had, indicating he's the boss.

Name: Baruka

Level: 61

Race: Snow Folk (Ice Elf)

Class: Rogue

Thoughts about you: Intrigued by your offer, knows firsthand how devastating the Shadow Army can be.

Reputation: 15

Before Baruka could make a decision, both parties are interrupted by the arrival of a formidable force, as Igris finally makes his appearance after I called him from camp when Baruka initially revealed himself. Song-Yi and Heejin were here too, safe and sound, quietly staying behind Igris, as they could feel the thick tension in the air.

I glanced over to the Hyakki, and I could instantly tell they were fearful of my greatest shadow. The elves behind Baruka started to shift carefully, as they didn't want to get in a fight with our reunited force.

"Is that the knight commander Igris?! The Frost Monarch had cautioned us about the Right Wing of Ashborn's Shadow Army!" Baruka uttered out. "He told us of a dreadfully monstrous knight, with an unmistakable bloody red streamer that warns his enemies of his ravenous bloodthirst…"

Igris slowly made his way over to me, keeping a careful eye on Baruka and the rest of the Hyakki. He left the girls in the care of some of the shadow beasts, if any elf wanted to get at them they would have to go through my full army.

"Yes, it is. Do you truly think he would serve me if I didn't have Ashborn's full blessing?" I respond while patting my first shadow on the back. "I'll give you all a choice. You can join my eternal army willingly, with our respect. Or we cut you down where you stand. Afterward, I'll resurrect you all as my shadow soldiers. Either way, you'll be mine."

My shadows all respond to my words by getting into battle position, my new yeti shadows grunt out loudly, flexing hard and beating their massive fists against their chests. Tank rises to his hind legs in intimidation, as he towers over the rest of the other shadow beasts, ready to charge the outnumbered Hyakki squad.

I give up any pretense of there being any real choice, as I just wanted to stall time until Igris could get here. Now that he has returned, they should understand quite clearly how a full on battle would go.

Baruka briefly checks with his elven warriors, nodding to them before he looks back to me with a satisfied look on his face.

"Very well. We shall acknowledge you, Shadow Monarch." The dungeon boss drops down to one knee once again, this time his entire Hyakki group behind him does the same, as they accept my offer to join willingly.

"Excellent, I know you won't regret this choice." I shout out with pleasure, quite pleased my legion will receive such strong members. "I welcome Baruka and the cold-blooded Hyakki into our ranks!"

The uneasy atmosphere dissipates, as my shadow army begins to warmly welcome the new force with applause.

Baruka and the rest of the elves rise to their feet once more, as I approach the head of the ice slayers.

"Baruka, do you know how many yetis are in this frozen jungle?" I ask my soon to be shadow, as he should have the biggest grasp of the immediate area.

"There aren't that many yetis here, my king." The elf answers, his sudden attitude adjustment is quickly apparent. "Taking into account the three beasts you have already incorporated into your army, there should only be a few left. To my best knowledge, there's less than ten in the whole forest."

"Before we leave this place, we need to add the remaining yetis to my army!" I announce to my shadows, awaiting orders. "Hunt them down. Bring their corpses back to me. I want to leave this place as soon as possible!"

I leave Kang to coordinate and plan with the rest of my shadows, as I turn back to Baruka.

"There's still some time before I will revive you all, so regroup and prepare if you must, meet me here once you're ready." I let the Hyakki know, as once Baruka dies, the red gate will open, giving me limited time to clean up the rest of the dungeon.

Baruka bows to me before he quickly hops back on to his impressive steed, seamlessly going invisible into the landscape as his Hyakki forces disappear from the area, leaving me alone with Igris and the girls.

"Mars you can speak the language of the magical beasts?!" Heejin comes up to me excitedly, seemingly unphased by the tense conversation moments prior.

"I guess so. My reawakening gave me a lot of different powers and abilities." I shrug off. "You two are okay?"

"Yes!" Song-Yi says happily, jumping into my arms now that we're alone. " Igris-sunbae was the perfect gentleman."

"Good. So, we can finally put this place behind us, depending how fast my shadows are." I look to Park Heejin, finally ready to test out an ability of mine. "Heejin Noona, you really trust me now, right?"

Name: Park Heejin

Level: 34

Race: Hunter (B)

Class: Mage

Thoughts about you: Thinks you're sweet, she fully understands how fucked she would be if you didn't protect her.

Affection: 80

"Of course, Mars." She didn't hesitate, giving me a pretty smile, grabbing my arm lovingly.

This is the time to finally test out [Power Bestowal]. It's the perfect opportunity to see what it does exactly, and I'm quite interested to see how strong it would make a mid B-ranker, considering I'm firmly S-rank now. I'm not sure how many uses I have, so it's important to use them on people I can trust. The return should be greater if I use it on Heejin, instead of the E-rank Song-Yi.

"Okay, Noona. I'm going to try sharing some of my power with you." I warn the mage, grasping her delicate hands gently within mine, as I try to call forth my holy power. "Please endure any strange sensations, this shouldn't take too long…"

I close my eyes, listening closely to my body, focusing on my beating hearts. It feels like I can form a connection with her, so I follow my Ruler instincts, and I can sense a slight energy break away from my original heart, sending it slowly to Heejin through our joined hands. I feel my wings move on their own, as they envelop her in a tight embrace.

"U-ugh… I-it's intense!" Heejin moans out as she holds on to me harder as I try to guide her through the process, rubbing her back soothingly.

"It's okay! Just hold on to me for a little bit longer!" I encourage her, as I feel her squeeze me tighter, the bestowal is almost complete.

[Park Heejin has been bestowed a fraction of your power]

"Wow…" Song-Yi breaks the brief silence, as my wings unfold from the bear hug I had her in. "Unnie you're glowing!"

Heejin really looked radiant, she looked over herself with a cute giggle. It was obvious she grew in power, as her mana feels a lot more potent now.

Name: Park Heejin

Level: 44

Race: Hunter (A)

Class: Mage

Thoughts about you: She felt your limitless power during the bestowal, she has been training hard for many years just to go from high C-rank to mid B-rank.

Affection: 100

[Park Heejin's Affection has been Maxed and Locked]

She conjured one of her barriers, and it shined a brilliant gold, it was certainly the spell of an A-ranker. Song-Yi couldn't believe it, she rushed to congratulate Heejin, who was leaking happy tears from her beautiful emerald eyes.

I study her new aura with a wide grin, anybody who I shall deem worthy of my blessing will evolve, as my bestowed will receive an immediate power boost.

"How do you feel?" I ask the new A-ranker, who finally looked up at me with affectionate eyes.

"I didn't know it was possible to feel like this…" Heejin said slowly, closing her eyes, as she started to make sense of her new power. "Like there's electricity running through my veins."

Without warning, she shoots a small lightning bolt at a tree, blowing it up, as bark flies everywhere. The tree started to smoke, a small fire erupts from within the burnt wood.

Heejin bolts at me with increased speed, reaching up to my face as she gives me a big smooch.

"U-unnie?!" A blushing Song-Yi shouts out in shock pulling her away from me, as neither of us expected her to do that. "What are you doing to Mars?!"

"Hehe, sorry Song-Yi~" Heejin looks up to me with love in her eyes, placing my hand over her heart. "Thank you, thank you, thank you Mars! Not only for sharing your essence with me, but for keeping me safe during this red gate…"

"I'm more than happy to~ "I give her a sincere smile, patting both girls on their heads, looking at Song-Yi who was pouting a bit. "Sorry Song-Yi, I'm afraid I cannot share my power with you right now, but I promise you're next."

"Fine, I'm holding you to that Mars!" Song-Yi cutely squeaks out, as she felt left out in the moment.

"Why don't you two go back to camp with Igris, I need to check on my summons." I ask the two clingy ladies, as I don't want to show them what happens next. "Noona, you can test out your new power against Igris, he's the perfect sparring partner!"

As Igris guides the two girls back to the campsite, I enjoy the rare time I get to myself, since entering the red gate.

Ashborn, tell me about the Frost Monarch.

Ah, he just might be the wisest Monarch. As you may expect, he's cold, calculating, he never likes to take gambles. He is the only Monarch who openly dislikes the conflict, deeming a lot of it unnecessary.

So he would be one of the more reasonable Monarchs, then. How open would he be to joining my side vs Antares?

Yes, he would normally choose Antares' side over mine without a second thought, as he didn't forget how many times we fought when I was once the greatest Ruler. But you, young Mars, he might listen to you. Especially if your power is so undeniable, that he has no choice but to join forces. Just like his snow folk subjects you recently negotiated with.

I see. Speaking of those ice elves, they said they've met you before?

Young Mars, I don't think you realize just how many wars I've been in. Eons and eons of perpetual bloodshed. But things are different now, there's a chance to end the war once and for all. And I believe the Monarchs can all feel it too.

Thank you, Ashborn. It's starting to feel like this final battle is just around the corner. There's no way I can win this war alone, I can't let off the gas now; I must raise my shadows to be as strong as possible.

I turn my attention to Kim Chul's stiff body. I've left him waiting long enough.

"Arise, Iron!"

With an unintelligible scream, my newly raised shadow crawls free from it's battered body. It's noticeable right away that he grew since he died, as he's bigger than any regular shadow bear. He drops down to one knee, holding his hefty shield in his left hand, while his bulky battle axe rests in his right.

He was on the cusp of becoming S-rank at the end of his life, but he finally broke through the barrier as a shadow soldier. His horned helmet covers his identity, just like in the original story, nobody should recognize the even larger shadow as Kim Chul.

"Chul, you wanted to become a famous hunter back during your mortal existence. But now, you shall be remembered as the vanguard of the Shadow Monarch's Immortal Army." I direct my brand new shadow on his feet. "All of our enemies will fear you as the Invincible Iron!"

Iron roars out loudly in joy, as I admire my newest S-rank shadow. Iron's cumbersome black armor looks like it weighs a ton, his midsection hums a bright blue with 4 wing-like spikes shooting out of his shoulder. A grim blue energy glimmers throughout his whole face and body. His battle axe is as comically large as he is, the cutting edge of the axe could cut down countless trees in a single swing.

I'll have a plethora of S-rank shadows once Baruka joins. Tank is intimidating as fuck, he's about the same power level as Iron, and will act as my personal steed during any big battles. Kang is a couple of big kills from promotion, and I just came up with an idea to trigger it before we leave this gate. Igris is still the strongest, as he is fairly close to promotion once again. I'm quite excited, as once he reaches the shadow General rank he should be able to converse with me and other humans. He'll also become one of the strongest beings in the world, as only National ranked hunters and upper tier S-ranks like Cha Hae-In and Goto Ryuji should give him any trouble.

Baruka and the ice slayers come back, undoing their invisibility, it looks like he gathered additional elves as well. I count twenty-five Hyakki, including Baruka, plus his own personal warhorse.

"My King, we have returned. I have assembled my entire elven legion, and we are all ready to serve the Shadow Monarch." The dungeon boss declared, the obedience in his voice clear.

Kang almost instantaneously appeared by my side, having felt my call to return once the elves did. He greets the newly risen Iron, as Kang playfully slaps Iron on his breastplate.

"Excellent." I nod in approval to the group of Hyakki gathered. "As masters with daggers and bows, you shall act as a versatile branch of my shadow army. You'll fulfill many different roles: sabotaging and spying on our enemies from afar, or acting as the main offensive force during a heated battle. Baruka, are you ready?"

"Yes, my King. How do you wish to proceed?" Baruka asks me, clearly no longer afraid of death.

"Once you become a shadow soldier, you'll have to find a place in the hierarchy. One of my strongest shadows, Kang, will personally challenge you all, one by one." I gesture to Kang, who was fidgeting in place. "Baruka, you'll be testing last, but every other Hyakki should hope to make a great impression here in front of three future shadow generals."

I step to the side with Baruka and Iron, while the rest of the elves all gather in a crowd, circling Kang. He motions to the group, grinning wickedly as he studies the low A-rank Hyakki preparing for a fight. The long-haired elf that shot an arrow at Song-Yi at the beginning of the dungeon steps up to the plate first, mirroring the demented smile on Kang's face. The ice slayer pulls out the ceremonial elven dagger all Hyakki carry, before leaping at Kang with crazy speed, Kang managing to deflect the first attack. My trickiest shadow counterattacks with his second dagger, slicing the elf's hand off within the blink of an eye. The elf is barely able to react, as Kang mercifully slits the elf's throat, understanding he has many elves to fight consecutively.

"Aha! This Kang sure is amusing!" Baruka laughed out, not even phased by his fellow elf quickly bleeding to death in front of him.

As Kang is quite close to S-rank currently, the question is how many elves will he need to defeat before he promotes? I hope to watch a newly promoted Kang vs Baruka in a battle between S-rank assassins.

- Woo Jinchul (Hunters Association) -

Jinchul kept a careful eye on the adversarial guildmasters, not wanting another fight to break out. If there is one thing he can count on, it's Jong-In and Yoonho getting into some petty squabble if they meet each other in person. Tensions were quite high, as White Tiger's guildmaster looked like a ticking time bomb. As each minute passed, the likelihood of a dungeon break increased. The presence of the media only made things worse, as the Association would prefer to keep everything under wrap before the rest of the country found out. It would be a disaster if the entire squad is wiped out, as the news crews are keeping a close eye on the gate.

He checked his phone, it's been ninety minutes since they entered the gate, a day and a half in the dungeon for the trapped forces. His team already prepared the files of the stranded hunters. Jinchul met the raid leader, Kim Chul, only once before. The guy was an asshole, but he was undoubtedly strong. He could only hope Chul and Mars got along together well, because if the group fractured inside the red gate, the chances of many survivors would be nonexistent.

"Inspector Woo, were you able to contact Mars before he entered the gate?" Cha Hae-In asked the chief inspector, startling him out of his thoughts.

"Unfortunately not, vice-guildmaster Cha." He replied, thinking of the S-ranker. "I guess you'll have the chance to setup your meeting with him if he comes out of the gate."

- Mars -

Kang kneels before me, ready for promotion. He killed every single lower ranked Hyakki, not stopping even after hitting the required level. Just like Igris in the zombie instant dungeon, shadows need to be manually promoted. Confirming the promotion to Elite Knight, Kang hops into the air in delight, triumphant as he's finally S-rank. After promoting, Kang's appearance changed slightly: his armor became more dangerous as sharp spikes began to protrude, similar to Iron's armor, and his eyes began to glow blue. The thin blue streak in his longer hair completely took over, his hair now matching with Tank's impressive blue mane.

"Well done, Kang!" Baruka starts to clap with an almost evil laugh, I think the elf was thoroughly entertained watching the slobber knocker. "How confident are you in your speed?"

Both assassins stare each other down, analyzing each other's power, grinning evilly, before they turn invisible at the same time. Iron starts to look around in confusion with a blank look on his face. Even I can't see them at all now, but I can feel the sheer bloodlust in the air emanating from both sides.

In the fraction of a second, the sound of their daggers clashing against each other rings throughout the forest, as both killers appear into view. Sparks continuously flew passed us while Baruka blocked and deflected Kang's persistent barrage of lightning quick slashes.

Their speed is the same, as every time one of the sadists increased their pace, the other responded by moving even faster. Eventually, it looked like a game of Tron as blue and black deadly beams of light followed each other while Iron and I could barely keep up.

The key difference is stamina, as Baruka cannot keep up with a shadow soldier's endless endurance. It took a couple of minutes, but the evenly matched duel started to go in Kang's favor. Light cuts and wounds started to appear all over Baruka's body, further decreasing his speed. I send Igris an order to come back, as it's clear Baruka can no longer last for much longer.

"I...I yield. I can't even imagine how it would feel to be a shadow soldier, but it looks like there will be plenty of benefits indeed..." The strongest Hyakki utters out in exhaustion. "That was a good fight, Kang, our enemies will not even see their deaths coming."

The two agile assailants nod to each other in respect, sporting matching creepy smiles. Iron cheers with both of his hands in the air, he loved watching the two S-ranks duel.

"Can I make a selfish request, my king?" Baruka asks meekly, continuing when I give him an affirming nod. "I'd like to die by your hand, if possible."

"Okay, Baruka." I confirm, as I start to form a light spear, letting it dissolve quickly as I have another idea. I reach my hand out to Iron, and he quickly hands me his massive battle axe. "Are you ready?"

"Yes, my Shadow Monarch." The dungeon boss replied with unwavering eyes, painlessly executing his horse with his dagger, before he dropped down to a single knee with his head bowed.

Kang and Iron watched as I brought the long axe up high, before I swiftly swung down, beheading the Hyakki in a split second.

[The Dungeon Boss Has Been Slain]

I quickly cast [Shadow Extraction] on the mass of bodies laid out in front of me, laughing as the surrounding area turns pitch black for a moment. The dark smoke evaporates, and my new elven forces are kneeling in formation, as if they were waiting for me to raise them from the dead. Baruka is instantly my second strongest shadow, looks like Igris and him will be my first two speaking shadows.

My Hyakki shadows shine a vibrant blue, much more than when they were alive. Their white hair is now painted as dark as the shadows, and their unique armors are now as black as the night, perfect for espionage. Baruka's steed is an A-rank beast, it looks impressive as it's shadow form looks just like Baruka's: glowing blue skin and an intimidating black mane. The beast's armor is similar to that of the elves, as the horse bows it's head to me in acknowledgement.

The ground shakes a bit, as my yeti shadows arrive, each one holding a dead yeti in their gigantic hands. The rest of my shadows appear, Tank dragging the two yetis Igris defeated in camp. Igris and the girls follow gingerly behind Tank, Song-Yi and Heejin look quite surprised at my expanded army.

"Arise."

Five new tough yeti beasts stand proud, greeting me with devotion in their eyes.

A small crackling blue sphere of energy appears from behind me, growing steadily, as the exit gate explodes into view.

"Mars..." Heejin says, observing my whole army who have organized in front of us. "Just how strong are you, really?"

I chuckle to myself, as I mentally bring up my status.

Name: Mars Valentino

Level: 77

Race: Fallen Ruler-Human Hybrid

Class: Battlemage (Holy Lightning Attribute) lvl. 69

Perks:

Friendly Face

Skills:

Gamer's Mind (Passive) lvl. MAX

Hand-to-hand Mastery (Passive) lvl. 12 (Novice)

Magical Endurance (Passive) lvl. 21 (Apprentice)

Physical Endurance (Passive) lvl. 42 (Adept)

Spear Mastery (Passive) lvl. 46 (Adept)

Shield Mastery (Passive) lvl. 30 (Apprentice)

Shadow Preservation (Passive) lvl. 42 (Adept)

ID Create (Active) lvl. MAX

ID Escape (Active) lvl. MAX

Observe (Active) lvl. MAX

Flight (Active) lvl. 44 (Adept)

Holy Lightning (Active) lvl. 59 (Adept)

Power Bestowal (Active) lvl. 3 (Novice)

Ruler's Authority (Active) lvl. 45 (Adept)

Shadow Extraction (Active) lvl. 42 (Adept)

Taunt (Active) lvl. 10 (Novice)

The Ancile (Active) lvl. 33 (Apprentice)

Locked Skills:

Monarch's Domain

Shadow Exchange

Spiritual Body Manifestation

Shadows:

Elite Knight (S):

Igris

Baruka

Kang

Iron

Tank

Knight (A):

Yetis (8)

Hyakki (24)

Assassins (10)

Mages (10)

Archers (10)

Infantrymen (19)

Elite (B):

Bears (30)

"About as powerful as guildmaster Yoonho, I guess." I answer my first bestowed, who stares in awe at my fully assembled forces. "Of course, adding my summons into the equation, I'm not sure how many guilds can match up against me."

My shadows are all mingling with one another, as my new army looks quite formidable. Igris and Baruka seem to be talking to the newly risen elven shadows, while Iron and Kang are showing off their new strength to the rest of the shadows, who are easily impressed. Tank and the beast shadows are seeing who can roar the loudest.

"I'm sick of this never ending blizzard! Let's get the fuck out of here!" I announce to my shadows.

- Cha Hae-In (Hunters Guild) -

The strongest active hunter in Korea watched the red gate slowly flicker, as Baek Yoonho fruitlessly tried prying it open. Choi Jong-In was talking to the press, saying how something like this would never happen in a Hunters Guild raid. She rolled her eyes, finding Jong-In rather shameless to advertise their guild while countless hunters are most likely dead in the red gate. He had told her he would do anything to secure Mars into their guild, and that was potentially the only thing she had in common with her guildmaster.

She thought of Mars, she instinctively knew he would be okay, as she couldn't forget his impressive power display. Especially his summons, she foolishly thought the Hunters Guild possessed the best summoners in the whole of Asia. She couldn't get him off her mind, not since Song Chi-Yul told her about the events of the double dungeon incident in great detail. Her face blushed as she imagined Mars, she wanted to smell his scent one more time, just why doesn't he smell putrid, like every other hunter she's met?

The group of hunters suddenly turned their attention to the dungeon gate, as a ball blue of energy burst from within the red gate, signaling the dungeon has been cleared.

"The red gate! It's opening!" White Tiger's guildmaster shouted out, as the paparazzi started to take photos of the gate opening. "People are coming out!"

- BONUS -

- Baek Yoonho (White Tiger Guild) -

Yoonho looked at the fluctuating gate with hopeful eyes. It was a miracle, Mars joining the training exercise. It hasn't even been two full days within the red gate, maybe he and Kim Chul managed to work together, clearing the dungeon quickly.

He never thought he'd be happy to see a giant macabre knight coming through a gate, as he immediately recognized it as Mars' S-rank summon, Igris. Hunters Park Heejin and Han Song-Yi stepped out from behind the dangerous summon, as the girls each had watery eyes. Yoonho ran towards the girls, but stopped when he felt a painful chill, as a freezing gust of wind hit him right in the face. With his beastly eyes, he peered into the opening of the gate, seeing the frozen hellscape they had to endure for over a day.

He noticed the thick fur coats the girls were wearing, just how did they acquire those, he vividly remembered none of the hunters entering the gate wearing any parkas. If the E-rank Han Song-Yi survived the dungeon, did that mean it's safe to assume everyone made it out alive?

Guildmaster Baek held his breath as he saw the shadows of a group of people exiting the gate. Are those the rest of his hunters?

Unfortunately, it was just more of Mars' shadows, carrying dozens of crystals each; it was impressive just how many high level summons he could control at once. Igris could be seen directing the rest of the summons.

He felt a new, strong presence, tracing the feeling to mage Park Heejin, who was talking to Ahn Sangmin with Mars' friend Song-Yi. It was clear her mana increased significantly, she had the aura of an A-ranker, just what happened in that gate?

Heavy footsteps shook the ground and he looked back to the gate, flinching as he watched a group of yetis squeeze through the opening.

"M-monsters?!" Joo Sungchan screamed out, as the assembled hunters got their weapons ready, the disturbingly large group of yetis staring them down, looking hungry.

"No! Those are also Mars' summons!" Park Heejin revealed, as Igris pointed to an empty corner, and the yetis followed, the knight ordering the group of beasts with ease.

The confused hunters didn't get a chance to breathe in relief as another crowd started to exit the gate, this time led by a well-built ice elf, riding a dreadful looking horse. The elf had the demeanor of an S-rank, did Mars really have another summon almost as strong as Igris?! The rest of the ice elves behind the leader were just as intimidating, each elf was riding an ice bear.

"W-what the hell?!" Woo Jinchul couldn't believe his eyes as magical beasts spilled out of the gate, none of them hostile. "Are these all of his summons?!"

The rest of the group was rendered speechless as Mars rode out on an ice bear as colossal as the yetis. He had a bored look on his face, as if it was a completely normal occurrence.

"Heh, Mars is going to have a lot of explaining to do..." Song-Yi groaned, as he finally made his appearance, the gate behind him closing with a flash.